The World Airport Awards began in 1999, when Skytrax launched its first global, Airport customer satisfaction survey. In 2000, the survey attracted a worldwide completion of 1.02 million users, which has since grown annually, with the 2017-2018 survey achieving 13.73 million eligible entries.

The focus is to deliver a customer survey and airport awards process that is independent, impartial and global, and this ethos remains essential to all aspects in the present day. There is no entry fee or any type of payment by an airport (or other third party) to be included in the survey or awards, with the survey and awards process fully funded by Skytrax.

A central directive of the survey is for customers to make their own, personal choices as to which airport they consider to be the best, underlining the brand as the Passenger’s Choice Awards.